Unknown Cause
by Karin Matthews
Summary: This is based on a true story. When Dick starts having disabling headaches, Bruce is determined to get to the bottom of why they occur. But when Leslie admits shes in the dark, everything starts to get concerning. (Story better than summary i swear)
1. Headache

Dick closed his eyes against the beating inside his head. It hurt.

"Dick are you alright?" he could hear Barbra talking to him but her voice was kind of swimming, he opened his eyes to met hers but felt a wave of nausea swepted over him and the pain in his head increase as the light hit his eyes.

"Yeh, Babs I'm fine" he said quietly and they began walking to class again.

Throughout the lesson Dick found himself sinking lower and lower in his seat as the pain increased, it was becoming to much, he felt like crying.

"Mr Grayson, are you listening?" he raised his eyes to meet those of his teachers and saw her take a step back "Richard are you alright?" she then asked in a more gentle tone, the boy was as pale as a ghost and she could see beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead.

Dick nodded "I think I just need some fresh air" he said and thanked her when she let him out. He made his way through the classroom, aware that the eyes of all his class mates were on him.

Just a few more steps.

But as he neared the door the edges of his vision started darkening, he felt his legs starting to grow heavy.

He didn't make it to the door before he came crashing down to earth and everything was black.

OoOoOoOoO

Barbra ran from the bus station and up the hill to Wayne Manor, Alfred answered on her third knock.

"I had a feeling you would be round Miss Gordon" said the old man

"How is he?"

"Master Bruce has Dr Leslie round, ah here we go" both looked at the stair case to see both Bruce as Leslie coming down the them. Barbra ran forward to meet them.

"Is he alright?" she asked

"He'll be fine" said Leslie "He's suffering from a migraine and a powerful one at that. I've given him to migraine medicine which should take the edge off. Just let him sleep and he should be back to normal in a couple of days".

Bruce thanked her and she left.

"A migraine?" said Barbra is disbelieve "He fainted in English because of a migraine?"

"Migraines can be extrememly painful" said Bruce but he could see the young girl wasn't convinced "If it makes you feel any better I'll get Leslie to check him over again in a few days to make sure he's better and until I get that comfermation he's benched from patrol. Alright?" Bruce smiled and Babs nodded feeling a little more reassured that he best friend was in a safe hands.

oOoOoOoOo

3 days later the pain had subsided slightly to a mild headache, but he still felt exhausted and slept for more than 18 hours a day.

Bruce, good on his word, got Leslie to check him over again. She checked his eye sight and his reflexes which were both good.

"Right, I'll just do a quick check around the back of your eyes and were done" she brought out the light and started shining it in his eyes. After a few minutes she turned the light off sat back a frowned.

"What's wrong?" asked Bruce

"I don't know, it could be nothing. But the nerves at the back of his eyes are swollen"

"Could that be because of the headache" he asked growing concerned

"No, it's more likely that this was the cause of the headache, but the question is whats caused this?" they both looked at Dick, who didn't look too concerned, in fact he looked like he was dropping off.

"Dick" Leslie said quietly but it brought him back to attention

"Yeh"

"How much do you sleep normally?" Dick shrugged  
"About 6 hours a night"

"And what about recently?" Bruce straightened

"He's been sleeping most of the day, but when he gets up he's still exhausted" Dick looked from one adult to the other. What was going on?

"What about your vision? Does it keep swimming every so often?" Dick nodded and Leslie pursed her lips.

"I'm going to send off for a glasses prescription, that should help with the vision and might help with the headaches, it might just be a case that your eyes are straining too much"

"But my eyes were fine until my headache" Dick piped in and she nodded

"I know, which is why I'm also going to send off blood to be tested. Just to be sure it's nothing" she smiled but Dick could see the concern behind it. Something was really wrong.

He gave her his arm and she tied the band around it and inserted the needle taking the blood. Dick just stared into space. What the hell was wrong with him?

OoOoOoOoOoO

It wasn't often Wally was granted permission to visit Dick at his home. But today was one of those days, Batman had told him that Dick was feeling under the weather and he thought the speedsers company might cheer him up.

Robin hadn't been to the mountain in over a week so Wally happily accepted.

When Wally entered the manor he was led to the living room where he saw a small figure curled up on the big sofa. Drawing closer he saw that Dick was asleep with his new glasses slightly askew on his face.

Bruce went round the sofa and started shaking the boy awake, Dick moaned and tried to turn over but with a bit more shaking he was awake. He sat up and smiled at Wally but the red head could see the pain in his blue eyes.

Bruce disappeared but returned a few moments later with a glass or water and some painkillers for Dick and a large bag of salted popcorn for Wally.

Wally watched as Dick slowly took the 4 pills, two were small and round the other two were oblong.

"Better?" he asked after Dick had swallowed the last one.

"Not really, the pain never goes away, the paracetamol and ibuprofen just dull it slightly".

The speedster looked at his friends tired eyes and sighed "Come here" he said and let the 13 year old rest in head on his lap and in a few moments he was asleep again.

Meanwhile Bruce had a call from Leslie.

"What did the results say?"

"We tested from Anaemia, Diabetes etc. and we also tested for cancer" Bruce held his breath, please not cancer.

"All were negative"

"So what do we do now, he's in so much pain"

"I know, but I think this is out of my league Bruce, I'm going to refer him to an ophthalmologist. They can getting a better idea of what's causing his nerves to be inflamed, until then we can try putting him on 600mg of Aspirin, see if that eases the pain".

"What do you think's wrong with him?"

"I don't know Bruce, I really don't know".

**A/N Well here is the first chapter, please let me know if you would like to continue. Review Karin xx**


	2. Lights

"There are still bits in it" Bruce sighed as he watched his ward swirl the spoon round the glass of milky water, his chin rested on the table so he was looking through the glass.

"Some of the bits aren't going to dissolve, just drink it" Dick lifted him head and looked into the top of the glass and sniffed.

"Smells funny too" he whispered but Bruce heard.

"It's just Aspirin Dick, Leslie said it might help your headache" Dick frowned at the glass but still picked it up and drank the fluid as fast as he could "All of it, don't leave the bits at the bottom, that's the drug!" Bruce lifted the glass a little higher so the bits of powder at the bottom of the glass also slide down the boy's throat.

"That is nasty" he said looking up at the older man

"Well get used to it, says here to take one every 4 hours. Hopefully it will give you some relief" the younger nodded slowly, the pain in his head still as prominent as it had been a nearly 2 weeks ago.

"Can I go to the cave, I haven't seen the guys it what seems like forever?" Bruce nodded

"As long as your feel up to it. And remember, no sparing!" Dick again nodded slowly and went to get ready.

"At least he's trying to regain some normality" said Alfred who had been standing at the distance.

"Yeh but he's still not right, he's not himself." Bruce was worried; whatever was wrong with his son had come on so suddenly that no one had had time to brace themselves. One minute everything was fine, the next he was in constant pain and having to undergo medical tests because no doctor could tell them what was wrong with him.

And to make matters worse, the hospitals were so booked up these days that Bruce hadn't been able to get Dick and appointment at the ophthalmologist until July, he couldn't flash his name around in case the papers got wind of what was going on, he didn't want Dick to have to deal with that as well as everything else, besides it could also draw attention to the fact that Robin has been out of action. He looked at the calendar that was hung on the fridge and silently cursed the month that was showing. May. They had to wait nearly 3 months to find out what was wrong with him and even then, Leslie had said there was a chance they might find nothing.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Robin sat quietly on the benches as he watched his friends spar. It had been almost 2 weeks since he had done anything like this, and he missed it. He wished he could join in but he knew Bruce would freak, and besides, he was too tired.

As it was he was nearly falling asleep where he was sat.

"Robin?" he hadn't realised he had closed his eyes until he opened them and saw M'gann in front of him "Are you alright?"

"Yeh Miss M I'm fine, just a little tired" the team was aware of some of the situation. They knew Robin was under the weather, which was why he was benched, but they didn't know all of the details. Then again there weren't many details to tell because nobody knew what was wrong with him.

"Why don't you go and have a lie down?" Robin did consider this for a moment, but he had spent so much time in bed these last few days that he hated the thought of going to his room, but he was tired.

"I'll watch a few more matches then I think I'll go catch some zees" he tried to convince her with a smile but she didn't seem to completely believe him "Seriously M'gann I'm fine, totally feeling the aster".

Not

"Well if you're sure. Let us know if you need anything"

"Will do" he watched her head back to the others, converse for a few moments and then get back to fighting. He didn't fail to notice that Black Canary was at the side lines as well, but she was only half watching the team, most of her attention was on him.

He sat for a little while longer watching Aqua Lad and Supes fight, but he could feel his eyes growing heavy and his head started pumping harder, he looked up to see the lights above him and his head gave a painful pang. There was no natural light in this room maybe that was what was making it worse. Taking this into consideration he stood and started walking to the exit, maybe the outdoors would sooth it.

As he reached the door out of the gym his vision started to sway and darken. He knew what was happening this time and knew there was nothing to break his fall.

"Auntie D" he called as loud as he could, he didn't know if the words had left him mouth or not. He hoped they had as he started to fall.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Canary watched the team spar, keeping an eye on their progress but it was her nephew that held most of her attention. He was sat up on the benches looking pale; M'gann had spoken to him a few moments ago and had come back to the group looking slightly concerned.

Her attention was drawn even more to Robin as he got up and started heading to the door, most likely heading to his room, Bruce had said he had been sleeping a lot lately.

So her attention flipped back to the team, watching as Super Boy took a shock to the back from Aqua lad. The clone turned in anger. She was about to tell him that anger would only hinder his chance of winning when she heard a soft call.

"Auntie D" she turned and saw Robin by the door swaying on the spot and then his knees gave up, she started running towards him but knew she would not get to him before he hit to ground.

And then suddenly he wasn't falling, red clad arms held him, protecting him from the ground.

"Flash is he alright?" she cried as she dropped to her knees next to him.

"Call Batman" said Flash holding the boy close to him, brushing his black hair from his face that had beads of sweat clinging to it.

The team were now crowding round, wondering if their youngest member was alright.

"Wally" said Flash standing up with the boy in his arms "Take him to the medbay, I'll be there in a minute" Kid Flash took his best friend from his Uncle and ran.

OoOoOoOoOoO

His eye lids were heavy and his head was spinning, but someone was holding his wrist. Finally Dick opened his eyes and saw the face of Dr Leslie.

"Hey Dickie. How you feeling?" she asked her voice kind and soft.

"Not feeling the aster" he whispered his eyes shutting again but he forced them to stay open and looked around. He was in his room back at the manor, how did that happen?

"You passed out while you were with your friends. Your Aunt Dinah called Bruce and he brought you back here. You've been out for a few hours".

"What happened?" he asked, he remembered feeling faint but he couldn't recall what had started it.

"We think your migraine hit a peak. Something must have aggravated it enough to spike, your body has been fighting it for so long it couldn't take that extra pain".

Dick thought about this for a moment. That was right, his head had started to hurt more, which is why he started to leave the gym in the first place.

"The lights, they were hurting my eyes. I was trying to get outside when I passed out" the Dr frowned.

"Does it hurt to move your eyes?" Dick tried it and pain shot through his head and his eyes felt like there was a balloon of pressure behind them ready to burst. His sinuses burned and he shut his eyes quickly.

"Yeh"

"Right, I'm going to give a colleague of mine a call and discuss with him whether we both agree to start you on steroids. If the headaches are caused by your nerves being inflamed then that should bring them down".

She left Dick as he started to drop off and went down to Bruce and repeated the information.

"Do you think that will help?" he asked

"I'm not sure, which is why I want a second opinion, Dick's case is very strange and until we know what's causing the problem its trial and error with the treatments we can offer him."

Bruce nodded in understanding, he had known Leslie for years, and she knew what she was doing.

"Until then Bruce, try and get him to stay away from bright lights, we don't want him to have another fainting spell".

**A/N Heres the second chapter. I'm so glad so many of you wanted me to continue this. I was unsure how it would go down with people and in truth i dont know how its going to end, because its based on a true story and the real life story is on going. Any questions PM me. Please Review Karin xxx**


	3. Drugs

It took Leslie three days to get in touch with the other doctor. In that time Bruce had kept Dick in the darkness of his bedroom, which was fine with the younger boy, it meant he could sleep and the darkness kept his headache to a low humming.

Within those three days both Barbra and Wally had come to see him, both concerned about how he was doing. Wally was especially worried, he had been there on his friend's second fainting spell, and he had carried him while he was unconscious. His best friend had been pale and limp; it had scared him.

And the sight of Dick when he had gone to visit him hadn't reassured him. His friend was propped up on pillows, his specs on his nose and his hair dishevelled. He had spoken to Wally and tried to convince the speedster that he was fine, but Wally could see his eyes were glazed over and didn't fail to notice that the teen was spacing out a lot. Which was just something Robin/Dick never did, he was always alert and noticed everything around him. Wally was pretty sure he could have walked in wearing a dress and the younger boy wouldn't have been any the wiser.

Dick spent most of those three days asleep, while Bruce spent most of it on the Bat computer, looking up Dick's symptoms and finding various things that could be plaguing his son. In the end Alfred had to pull his master away from the screen, as some of the things were beginning to make even the mighty Batman anxious.

Finally Leslie called.

"We had a long discussion and we both agreed in the end that Steroids were not the way to go" she said over the phone, Bruce sat down on his office chair.

"Where do we go from here then?" he asked loosening his grip on the phone when he realised he was gripping it too hard.

"We're thinking the best plan of action is to try him on Amitriptyline. We'll keep him on it for a month and see if the headaches are improving".

"Amitriptyline?" Bruce thought for a moment, trying to bring the drugs name into his mind "Isn't that an anti- depressant?" Dick was many things, but depressed wasn't one of them, true he found his parents death upsetting, especially towards the anniversary. But they worked through it together.

"It is, but it's rarely used as one. It's mainly used to prevent chronic headaches"

"Prevent? So he can't use it as a pain killer?" wasn't that the whole point? Too stop his son being in so much pain?

"If he takes one of these every night, in a week or so we should start to see an improvement. Until then just keep trying with the Aspirin, I know it doesn't do very much, but it might take the edge off which could be the difference between him passing out and not".

Bruce took a deep breath, thinking everything through quickly in his mind before accepting

"I'll try anything as long as it stops the pain".

Hours later Leslie arrived with the prescription, she couldn't stay long as so she left Bruce and Alfred to look through the leaflet that came with the drugs.

Both the men's eyes grew wide as they looked through the 3 pages of possible side effects.

"Fitting, Coma, Suicidal thoughts? What the hell?" exclaimed Bruce as he re-read the sheet "There's no way I'm giving him this!"

"It does say those are rare and extreme cases Master Bruce" said Alfred "I believe the most common side effect and you'll see Dr Tompkins has under lined it, is drowsiness"

Bruce looked to where the old man was pointing but was still unsure

"But he's already sleeping most of the day, how is making him even more tired going to help him?" He sat down at the kitchen table with his head in his hands.

"Perhaps it would be wise to get a second opinion. Just to be sure?" Bruce looked up slowly "Master Allen perhaps?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Hello, Barry Allen here….Bruce! How are you, how's Dick?" Barry stood up from his desk and walked to the lab door to close and lock it. He didn't want anyone getting wind of the fact poor Dick was sick as a dog.

"I see" he said as Bruce explained why they thought Dick had fainted at the cave the other day "What about now, is he any better? ... Steroids, blimey … no it makes scenes that she would want another opinion. I see, yeh that sounds like the safer option…so what do you want me for?" He listened to his friends worry. It wasn't often Bruce Wayne reached out for help, but when he did it usually involved his 14 year old son.

"Well the way I see it Bruce, is that this drug might be what he needs to get these headaches under control, if what your telling me is correct, then the poor kid isn't getting any relief from the pain. Try him on the drug; give it a couple of weeks, if he doesn't get along with them then you take him off of them. It's like you said Bruce, they don't know what's wrong, and until we know it's a case of trying things to see if they work. Have you tried giving him energy drinks? It might perk him up a little. Alright, it's no problem. Bye"

Barry unlocked the door and then made his way back to his desk and his experiment, wishing that he knew some way to help his friend a little more.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"What's this?"

"It's a new drug we're going to try" Bruce gave Dick a glass of water and handed him the little blue pill.

"What's it called?"

"it doesn't matter" there was no way he was going to let Dick read up on it, he would never willingly take it if he read that list of side effects.

"Can I read the leaflet?" Damn his son and his curiosity

"No, now take it" the kid looked at him with a raised eye brow but shrugged and swallowed the pill.

"Right now, you're not allowed to drink any alcohol because it will turn the drug into a sedative" Dick smiled weakly, both knowing that Dick wasn't the drinking sort.

After he finished the glass of water he handed it back to the older man "Happy?" he said and then sunk back into his pillows.

"Yes" said Bruce and he started walking out of the room, leaving Dick to fall back into slumber.

"Oh" he said before shutting the door "and let me know if you start to have suicidal thoughts. Good night."

He caught a glimpse of his sons wide eyed expression before closing the door behind him.

**A/N Another chapter finished. How are you guys liking it so far, i tell you its making me feel better. so until the next chapter please review and any questions feel free to PM me. Karin xxx**


	4. Pulling a Dick Grayson

"You're looking a bit better than the last time I saw you" Babs smiled as she saw her friend walking through the school gates. It had been nearly a month since the headaches had started and this was his first day back to school since the incident in English.

"Yeh, these new pills seem to be making them a little more bearable. And they seem to work well with the Aspirin so all in all, Bruce let me come back to school" Dick did seem a lot happier. Babs could see that he was still moving around a bit more carefully as his head was still tender, but at least he was moving around in the day light and not bed bound in his darkened room.

"So what's been going on while I've been away?"

"Not much to be honest. Betty's been chasing after one of the seniors again, some of the freshmen have started wearing Batman capes to school in protest against them not being allowed to Spring Formal…oh and Artemis has work out that you're Robin"

"She what?!" Dick stopped and stared at the red head "How?"

"Well I was talking to her the other day as BG, and she was saying how she found it strange that not only was Robin fainting and suffering from chronic headaches but her friend Dick Grayson from school was as well….and then it kind of…clicked" he stared at her in disbelief.

"So she doesn't know your identity?"  
"No"

"Just mine?" Babs nodded and then bit her lip

"And she kind of has an idea about B's as well" Dick could feel his headache starting again, the stress of this new found information making his heart beat faster.

"He's going to kill me. You do realise this right" Babs could see he was freaking out so she pulled him aside into a quiet corner and sat him down.

"No he's not. This is hardly your fault. You're not well, it's not like you could help it!" Dick stood up and started pacing.

"What am I going to do?" Babs watched him not sure how to calm him down, how to reassure him that everything was going to be ok.

"Maybe Bruce won't even find out, she's your friend, it's not like she's going to tell anyone" he laughed, but it wasn't his usual (kinda creepy) cackle. This laugh held no humour.

"Not going to find out" he brought his face close to hers "He's the god damn Batman of course he's going to find out!"

"Hey Bird Boy" Dick actually yelped and jumped back from the voice that was behind him "Wo calm down I didn't mean to scare you" said Artemis, she tilted her head to the side to take the sight of her friend in.

"You're really aren't all together at the moment are you. How you feeling, you gave us quite a scare the other day" Dick laughed nervously

"Well you know, anything to get out of English"

"That's not what I meant and you know it" Dick groaned, there was no way of getting around this one.

"Artemis" he whined

"Chill Dick, it's not like I'm going to blab. I'll kick your ass for not telling me when you're feeling better" she winked at him "Speaking of which, when are you planning on dropping by?"

"Tonight, Bruce has a meeting with the top guns. So I get to chill with you guys"

"Alright I'll see you later".

She walked away from them and Babs looked over her friend, he had paled in the moments before Artemis' arrival, maybe stress was something that caused the headaches.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeh, it's not too bad, I'm not going to pass out don't worry" but she was still concerned, he was frowning and had his fingers pressing on the bridge of his nose.

"Maybe you should go and see the nurse, maybe if you take some pain killers before it gets too bad they might actually help" he nodded and let her lead him to the nurses office.

"Ah Mr Grayson, I see you're back. What can I do for you?"

"He needs paracetamol for his head ache" said Babs since Dick seemed to be pretty out of it again, the nurse nodded and headed over to her cabinet.  
"Have you taken any other pain killers today?" she asked and Babs had to nudge Dick in the arm to get him to pay attention.

"Um yeh, this morning, but it was nearly 5 hours ago" the nurse nodded again

"I'm afraid I've only got ibuprofen" she handed him the pills and he took them gratefully.

"Remember to come back if your headache worsens" she looked at the young boy over her glasses, she had heard all about his fainting spell from the other students. Feeling faint in class was now known as pulling a Dick Grayson.

oOoOoOoOoOo

As the two teens started walking back to class Dick stopped.

"What's wrong?" asked Babs

"I don't feel right" he said, Babs frowned, the drugs should have kicked in, he should be feeling better not worse.

"Is it your head?" he shook his head and winced. His breathing had started to become rapid.

"Babs can you get internet on your phone?" she nodded "Can you….search…mixing aspirin with….ibuprofen" he was finding it hard to speak and he slouched down on the ground as she pulled her phone out and started typing.

"It says the if you've had more than 75mg of aspirin in a day then it advises you against taking ibuprofen due to a risk of them reacting badly and overdosing" he paled even more and started shaking.

"I had…aspirin..this..morning"

"But that was nearly 5 hours ago, how much did you take? It says under 75 mg you should be fine" when he looked up at her she knew it was bad, Dick very rarely looked scared but right now he looked like he was on the verge of tears but then he closed his eyes like he was going to sleep.

"Dick!" Babs shot forward and took hold of his shoulders "You need to tell me, how much did you have this morning!"

His eyes opened slightly but his head was rolling as though he was really dizzy "600mg" he breathed.

"I'm calling an ambulance!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Bruce stared intently at his coffee as he pretended to listen to Clark ramble on about what he was going to do about Louis and how could he ever accept Connor as his son. It was the same rambles they had every Thursday when they had coffee in the small coffee shop just outside of Gotham.

They were currently at the part about how maybe he should tell Louis about his secret identity, it was something that was often coming up and Bruce had learnt to just let the Boy Scouts train of thought run to the end of its course.

After a while he managed the tune out the aliens' voice and started looking through his emails on his i-phone. That's when the text came through.

"Are you even listening to me?" Bruce looked up to see the other man had stopped talking without him noticing and was now staring at him.

"Sorry Clark, Alfred just text me, I've got to ring him, something's going on at home" he stood and left the booth.

"Alfred what's wrong?" he said down the phone when he reached the outdoors

"I'm glad I reached you so quickly Master Bruce. Master Dick has been taken to the hospital by an ambulance, according to Miss Gordon he got his drugs mixed up and has over dosed".

"He is alright?"

"I've spoken with the doctor briefly; they've given him some counter drugs and are monitoring him. But they would not go into any more details since I am not his guardian".

"I'll be right there"

"Something wrong?" Bruce turned to see Clark was standing next to him "You sounded distressed"

"Dick's in the hospital" he said "Alfred said something about him taking a wrong mix of drugs"

"Which hospital?" said Clark frowning.

"Gotham Royal"

"Come on, I'll get you there faster than a car".

oOoOoOoOoOo

Black Canary was pacing around the cave. Young Justice watched her with concerned faces, they had been told a few hours ago by Superman that Robin was in hospital but they hadn't heard any news since then.

"I'm sure he's fine, Bats would have said if it was serious" said Green Arrow

"Yeh cause that's so like Batman" they all glared at Red Arrow, in all honestly it was unnerving having him in the cave at all, he was only ever here when something serious was going down.

"_Recognising Batman 01, recognising Robin B-01" _

Everyone jumped up at the announcement to see Batman stride in with Robin behind him looking slightly less sure about himself.

"Robin are you alright?" said Kid Flash racing over, but Batman steered his ward away from the speeder and to the sofa when the boy sat.

"He's fine" said Batman then turned to Robin "Stay here, go to sleep and no funny business" Robin nodded.

Batman then turned to face Aqualad "Make sure he gets some sleep".

Then he turned and led the other heroes out of the room.

Young Justice crowded round their youngest member all talking at once.

"Guys!" said Robin, sounding exasperated "I really don't want to talk about it" the team understood and left him to get some sleep but Artemis approached once she was sure the others wouldn't over hear.

"Babs told me what happened. Are you sure you're alright?" Robin nodded but then shook his head and even though he wore sunglasses, Artemis could tell he was close to tears.

"I don't know what's happening to me. I'm meant to be Robin the Boy Wonder but I almost kill myself by taking 2 incompatible drugs. Since when am I that stupid and weak?"

"That was hardly your fault, the nurse should have known to ask more question, especially since she knew you were already sick" she could tell this fact hadn't comforted him and he looked exhausted. So she stayed quiet and instead did something that she will admit was completely out of character for her. Taking hold of Robin's shoulders she pulled him down and let him fall asleep on her lap.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room Batman" everyone nodded at Diana's comment.

"And what would that be?" asked the Dark Knight, though he already knew what they were referring too.

"What happening with Dick?" Batman sighed

"The overdoes wasn't too severe, but they were concerned about his level of consciousness. The overdose set off another migraine and since then he's been having trouble staying awake."

"What does that mean?" asked Flash

"They're sending him for brain scans; they're worried he might have a tumour".

**A/N Sorry i havent updated this in a while...this chapter kinda explains why in a way. Please review, need some love. Karin xx**


	5. Relapse

"A brain tumor!" said Wonder Woman staring at the Dark Knight with wide eyes, as were most of the heroes around the table.

"But i thought they ruled out cancer with the blood tests?" asked Green Arrow and the others agreed

"They believe that if there is a tumour it is benign"

"So a tumor just appeared from nowhere? The kids been as healthy as a horse up till now" said Hal Gordon Dinah put her hand over his to calm him.

"He might have had it for years, but he's 13, all the different hormones running through his body could have altered it somehow, causing it too put pressure on his brain. Of course this is only stipulation. We wont know for sure until we get a brain scan".

"What can we do until then?" Batman turned to Superman and the alien could have sworn he could see saddness in the emotionless features.

"Pray that he doesn't get worse".

oOoOoOoOoOo

Dick opened his eyes suddenly and stared up at the dark ceiling above him.

It was there again. I hadn't been there for a while, but there it was just like in the beginning of this nightmare. The mindnumbing throbbing in his head.

It had been 2 weeks since the incident with the overdoes. Bruce now kept an eye on the medication he was taking. Dick didn't mind, what had happened had scared him and in his current state his was prone to forgetting things and drifting off into a daze. He didnt trust himself any more.

He carfully sat up and sighed in frustration as the pain became more intense from the movement. Turning to his side he could just make out the glass of water, that he had had for his medication, through the darkness. He reached out and grasped the glass but his hands felt weak and unsteady his hand feeling almost numb. Using both hands he steadied the glass and brought it too his lips but the water brought no relief from the pain.

He was on his second round of Amitriptyline. The first round had proven effective, but the second seemed to be going down the opposite path, his headaches had once again been becoming more frequent. And now the dull pain that he had felt for weeks in the beginning was back.

He closed his eyes for a moment trying to will the pain to go away, then he heard a knock on his door and an old man walked in.

"Good Morning Master Dick" said Alfred "I'm glad to see your awake already" Alfred walked over to the windown and pulled back the curtains, letting the morning sunlight shine into the room. Dick's head gave a painful hammer against his skull and he winced and shut his eyes again.

Alfred, ever the observant one, noticed his young masters behavious instantly.

"Master Dick?" he approuched his young charge who was now lying face down against his pillows, he sat next to him and placed a hand on his back "The light is troubling you again, is it not Master Dick?"

Dick just moaned in responce.

"Come Master Dick, get yourself up and ready. Maybe having some food in you will make you feel better" The butler shut the curtains once again but flicked on the bedside lamp so that the boy would be able to see where he was walking.

Once the old man had left the room Dick stood and started getting ready. He wasnt really getting ready for anything in particualr, he wasnt allowed to go back to school. They had insisted that he stay off school until he had had his test results. Obviously having to call two emergency amblunces on the last 2 days he was in school was a bit stressful for them.

He tenderly made his way down the stairs to the dining room where Bruce was already sat drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Morning Chum" he said without looking up

"Morning" the younger boys voice must have sounded drained because Bruce looked up from his reading to look at his son.

"Are you alright?"

"Not feeling the aster to be honest. My headaches back" Bruce frowned he knew the effect of the pills would wear off after a while, but he was hoping it would last a bit longer than a month. Especailly since it was only the end of June, his first hospital appointment wasnt until the end of July.

"I'll give Leslie a call, see what she thinks" Dick nodded but then paused and started looking around and rolling his eyes in different directions.

"What's wrong?"

"My visions gone weird" he started darting his eyes from side to side "My perifial vision in my right eye is gone!" his voice started to take a high pitch as he started to panic. Bruce got up from his place and went round to kneel in from of the teen.

"Dick calm down, its alright. Close your eyes" Dick complied and started taking some deep breathes to try and calm himself "Any better" the blue eyes opened again and he looked to his side again.

"No its still black"

"I'm calling Leslie. Sit here and dont panic".

oOoOoOoOoOo

By the time Dr Tompkins got to the manor a few hours later, Dicks eye sight had returned to normal. But the headache and sensitivity to light still remained.

"I'll send off for some tints to go into your glasses, they should block out enough of the light to not effect your headache" she took her own glasses off to clean them "As for the pills, keep trying with them a little longer, it might just be stress hormones effecting them, after the incident with the asprin it will take a little while for your body to sort itself out again".

"And if it doesnt start working again?" asked Bruce, Dick had once again drifted off into a daze

"Then give me a call, its not usual for them to stop working this soon, most people get at least 3 to 4 rounds out of them before they becoming ineffective".

Bruce came in closer and lowered his voice so that his next words didnt upset his son

"Is there any news on bringing the appointments forward?"

"I'm afraid not Bruce, with the government making all these stupid changes the hospitals are all booked up with a new system that doesnt work. Its a slow process, but one you need to go through if you want to keep Dick's condition away from the media".

Bruce nodded, his sons face on the front page telling the world about a suspected brain tumor was the last the Dick needed.

Dick had taken the news about the new "diagnosis" very well, then again Bruce was very proud of how well Dick was handling the whole situation. The boy had found a coping mechanism which was working for him well.

He had started writing everything that was happening to him in a story, which characters that were so different from himself. It was a way of dealing with the pain. Almost like pretending it was just happening the characters and not to him.

Bruce knew it would never work for someone like him. But if it was working for Dick then he would encourage it.

"Is there anything else Bruce?" Leslies voice brought him back from his thoughts.

"Yes, actually now that you mention it. He occationally complains about aching joints, especailly his fingers. The fact that he's mentioned it must be its been troubling him greatly otherwise i would never have heard about it". Leslie thought for a moment.

"The blood work we took a while ago showed that his vitamin leaves were a little below enough to cause alarm but combined with everything he's been going through they might have started to show symptoms" she pulled out her note pad again and wrote a list and then handed it to the billionaire.

"Get him some omega 3, Vitamin D, Vitamin B-12 and calcium tablets. Those were the ones that were low on his results. They might perk him up a little"

She walked to wards the door that Alfred held open for her, she kissed Bruce on the cheek before beginning to walk back to her car.

"It will be over soon Bruce. I can feel it".

**A/N A little bit shorter than the others but I want to keep this story updated as much as possible. Please Review. Any questions PM me. Karin xx**


	6. Eyes

Maybe it was because he was so used to the darkness of Gotham and the Bat cave. Or maybe it was because of the bright lights that felt like they were burning their way into his skull.

Whatever the reason was, Dick was not happy. He hated the bright lights and the plain sterile walls of the Hospital waiting room. Every time he had come here in the past he had been unconscious and so hadn't really had the time or energy to notice. But as he sat there he grew more and more uncomfortable.

This place smelt like death.

"Richard Grayson?" Dick looked up to see his first doctor of the day and nodded before following her down the corridor to her office.

"Right if you would like to take a seat" he sat at the chair she had indicated, it was a lot more comfortable than the ones in the waiting area. The Doctor didn't give her name but instead went straight to business.

"Right if you would just like to pop your chin on here and stare right ahead you should see a red dot" Dick hummed a response once he had found the dot. She then moved the machine slightly

"Now can you see a green star slightly to the right?" again he gave the same response.

"Keep staring at that and try not to blink" Dick internally frowned as a red light started flashing in his eye...how long did he had to not blink for? He waited for a few more seconds as he eyes began to sting and it became a struggle to keep them open. "And keep them open for 10, 9,8"

Was she serious! His eyes were burning!

"Alright now take a big blink" he closed his eyes in relief and felt water escape them. She did the same to the other eye and then moved him over to another machine.

"This machine will test your peripheral vision" she stated and covered his eye with an eye patch and handed him the clicker.

"Every time you see a white light, click the clicker" she then left him to it.

Dick knew his peripheral vision was fine. He was Robin for goodness sake. After about 10 minutes both eyes were done and both he and Bruce were sat back in front of her desk.

"Right, well your Peripheral vision is perfect Richard" Dick smiled to himself "however I think the optic nerve at the back of your eyes is swollen" she wrote this down in his file.

"Is there anything we can do for that?" asked Bruce

"That's not for me to say, I'll send these files downstairs with you and you'll see your next appointment. He's the consultant, he will be able to tell you what the next step will be".

Bruce nodded and took Dick by the arm to lead him out since he seemed to be in a daze, once outside he clicked his fingers in front of the boy's face.

"You there?" the boy nodded "We're going down stairs for the next appointment now, he should be able to tell us what treatments are available, did you hear what the Doctor said about your nerves?" Dick shook his head apologetically and then lent his head forward to rest it on the older man's shoulder.

"Don't worry Dick, we'll sort you out. The other Doctor seemed sure we'd found the problem".

They made their way down stairs and handed in the notes to the next department and then took a seat in the uncomfortable waiting room again. After about 5 minutes a woman called Dick into her small office.

"Right before you can see Doctor" Dick blinked at her, he had forgot that name the second she had said it. How had he gotten through life with a name like that? It was far too complicated "I need to check your eyesight" she paused looking at his glasses "Do you wear those glasses all the time?" she asked and Dick felt the rim of his specs and nodded.

"Most of the time, my eyes don't seem to agree with the light"

"Oh so they're sunglasses" now Dick paused. It was true the lenses in his glasses were not clear, they had a dark hue to them...but they defiantly didn't look like sunglasses...

"Umm...no, they're prescription glasses, they just have tints in them" she looked confused

"Oh right...well keep them on then".

She tested his eyes sight and found that to be as normal as it had always been, then it was back to the waiting room with Bruce.

Dick told him about what the nurse had said and Bruce raised an eyebrow

"It's not like I walk around like the Blues Brothers!" Dick hissed

"Calm down Chum" Dick took a deep breath

"Sorry, my head hurts" Bruce nodded in understanding and wrapped an arm around his son when the boy sat next to him.

And they waited...

..and waited...

...and waited.

Finally after nearly 2 hours the Doctor called his name, he was Asian and had a confusing accent that Dick had to concentrate on to understand and with his head throbbing, concentrating wasn't one of his favourite things to do. Maybe that's why he took an instant disliking to him.

"Hello my name is Doctor" there we go, that name again. thought Dick, who had already forgotten it. He seriously needs to consider getting that changed. I speak 6 different languages and I can't remember it!.

"Right so, I understand you have been having headaches. How long do they usually last?"

"The first one lasted for about 5 weeks. Nowadays they last for a few hours, a few days at most" the Doctor nodded and wrote something down.

"Are you taking any medication?"

"Amitriplyne" again he nodded

"But normal pain killers don't work?" Dick shook his head, he was getting bored of answering the same questions again and again. He was seriously not in a good mood.

"Do you have a headache now?" said the Doctor, seeing him rub his temple. The Boy nodded.

He went into his draw and pulled out some orange eye drops, Dick lent his head back as he approached.

"These might sting a bit" he said as he pulled back the boys eyelids.

Dick felt the burning sensation, but compared to the headaches and you know being beaten half to death by two face and getting shot by Joker...it wasn't really that bad.

The Dick found himself once again with his chin on a machine and a bright light being shone in his eye. After a few minutes the Doctor sat back.

"Well I don't think anything's wrong" both heroes paused

"What do you mean nothing's wrong?" asked Bruce "The Doctor a few hours ago said his optic nerve was swollen. The same diagnosis that our own doctor also came too, you have both pictures in the file"

"I don't think it is" came the doctors calm response

"But what about the headaches?"

"A simple migraine"

"And the fainting and black outs? His loss of vision? Did you read the notes?" Bruce was getting angry, this Doctor was supposed to give them treatment options not send them back to square 0!

"A very aggressive migraine. Just to be sure I'll refer him to Neurology" Bruce shook his head

"We already have an appointment" the Doctor nodded and stood.

"Good day to you them Mr Wayne, Richard".

OoOoOoOoOo

Back in the car Bruce was fuming. Dick knew he wasn't really angry at the doctor he was just frustrated that they seemed to be taking one step forward two steps back.

The only lead they had had on why he was getting these headaches was gone. Bruce had been hoping they would find something today because it would take a step away from their theory of a brain tumour. Bruce thought he didn't know, but there were times when the adults just assumed he was in one of his black outs when really he was just thinking and listening.

Dick was getting tired, he was trying to get his life back to normal. He had started studying again and sending his homework to his teachers. Thankfully it was now Summer Vacation so that was one less thing to worry about. But he couldn't go on patrol, he couldn't practise gymnastics. He could only use a computer or read for short periods of time and he was still taking drugs to keep him upright and awake.

It was no way for him to live and he couldn't live like this for much longer.

But if they didn't find anything with Neurology. What then? Would he just have to live with them for the rest of his life?

Dick sank down in his seat as Bruce fumed on.

That thought depressed him.


	7. Known Cause

Dick was tired. His headaches had been getting worse again over the last few weeks and the tension in the house had been stifling. Bruce and Alfred trying to pretend that everything was alright and that they weren't worried about the youngest member of their household.

Finally the day came to find out if anything could be done for him, Bruce had been pacing the night before around his room. Dick knew because he could hear him from next door while he lay in bed.

They were waiting in the waiting room of the Neurologist, it was 3 in the afternoon and they had been wandering around the hospital since 9 that morning. Dick had been in several different machines since he had first arrived. He had had someone shine more lights in his eyes, checking his reflexes over and over, a tuning fork to test his hearing.

He had had x-rays of his chest and skull, he had a Fluoroscopy, an MRI and of course a brain scan. All of these had taken time and by this point most of Dick's energy.

He lent against Bruce's shoulder and started to feel his eyes closing. Why was this happening, why wouldn't it just end?

"Richard Grayson?" he felt Bruce shake his shoulder, he opened his eyes to see the Nurse standing in the doorway. He didn't want to go in.

Since he had become Robin, people looked at him and saw him as a child trying to fit into an adults world. He had fought that allegation and proved himself over and over again that he was more than capable of handling himself. But right now for the first time, he felt like the child they saw him as.

And for once, he was going to give in.

Biting his lip he turned his face into Bruce's arm and gripped his hand around the sleeve of his suit.

Bruce felt his heart melt at the sight of his son. Leslie had warned him about this, the boy had been handling everything so well but now he had hit his limit.

"Come on Chum" he took the younger by the crook of the arm and helped him too his feet and guided him after the nurse.

Once in the Doctor's office they sat in the two chairs in front of the desk and Bruce was pretty sure if it hadn't been for his pride, Dick would have sat on his lap. But instead he settled for sitting as close to his adoptive father as possible.

"So Richard I've heard you've had a bit of a rough time" the Doctor smiled at him kindly but Bruce could practically see Dick shrinking into himself. Thankfully so could the doctor.

"Now, not to worry. We're going to try and get you sorted".

They went through the same questions that they had had to go through with all the other doctors, but something about this time was different. This Doctor had a way with Dick, when they had come in Dick had been at the end of his rope. But as they talked the boy seemed to calm down considerably...Until the test results came into the conversation.

"Now I've taken a look at your test results" Dick shut down straight away and his hand found Bruce's sleeve again.

"Like I said, not to worry. We didn't find anything with the scans and your reflexes are better than normal" both men let out a sigh of relief. There was no tumour.

"Then what's wrong with him?"

"There are nerve ending all over his body that are rubbing together where they shouldn't be. Causing the pain and fainting spells and all of his other symptoms".

"But what caused it?"

"Has he had any trauma to his back in the last year?"

Both paused as they thought back to a mission last year when Robin had been thrown off a fire escape and had a bumpy ride down.

But of course they couldn't very well come out and say that could they. Thankfully, Dick seemed to have pulled himself together.

"I fell off the trapeze during a practise a little while ago. Missed the net completely" he said not faltering for an instant "It wasn't that high but it hurt like hell"

"Did you have any medical attention after the incident?" Indeed he had, he had been in bed in agony for 3 days waiting for the swelling to go down and then had 4 months of weekly physiotherapy and then another month visiting a chiropractor.

"So that's what's caused it?"

"We believe so. Which unfortunately means it's properly going to be a reoccurring part of your life" That was not what Dick wanted to hear, he wanted a cure. He wanted the pain to stop so he could go back to his life.

His face must have showed his disappointment, because the Doctor's face softened.

"It's not all bad news. There are ways of dealing with the problem. Visiting a chiropractor a few times a year will help. For times when the pain returns then we can put you on a round of amitriptyline which should dull it enough for you to short out your back again".

"So the problem is his back not his head?" asked Bruce, clarifying.

"Yes, his spine to be precise"

"Even his sensitivity to light?"

"Yes, although as the Ophthalmologist said his Optic nerve his fine, but the other nerves behind the eyes are raised from aggravation"

"So what can you do about the pain now?" Dick's grip on Bruce's sleeve tightened as the older man asked the question he wanted to know the answer to the most.

"I advice continuing with the amitriptyline for another few months, if the headaches are persisting then try a higher dose. Other than that, changing some simple things about your life could help. Such as changing your pillow, thinking about your posture when you sit or drive"

"I'm 13" said Dick hoping he didn't sound guilty, of course he did drive a motorcycle as Robin but if anyone knew that outside of the hero community...he would be in deep trouble with Commissioner Gordon.

"Of course, but when your sat in the car and when you do start driving, thinking about how you are sat is important."

Dick nodded in understanding, he could do that.

"Also, another aspect of your life that could be adding to the problem is stress. Would you say parts of your life are stressful?"

umm Duh! Thought Dick, I'm one of the most famous people in the US, I'm kidnapped at least 6 times a year. I go to a seriously posh school where I'm hated and bullied by 98% of its population all while trying to keep my A+ average report card. Oh and I'm also Robin in the Dynamic Duo of Gotham!

"Yeh, I'd say parts of my life are pretty stressful".

The Doctor nodded "Well you need to find a way of calming yourself down, I think you'll find as you become less stressed, your headaches will also start to fade".

oOoOoOoOo

A few days later Dick was diagnosed with Chronic Tension Headaches. He was put on a higher dose of amitriptyline for 5 months. And over this time he sorted out his back and found several ways of dealing with his stress. And after a month without a single headache, Batman finally let Robin return.

oOoOoOoOoO

_4 Years later._

"Nightwing?" Wally sped into the living room where some of the younger members of the team were watching TV.

"Have any of you guys seen Nightwing?" Beast boy looked up from the screen

"Not since we came back from our mission. He got thrown around a little bit so I think he went t lie down for a bit"

Wally nodded at the green skinned youngster and then sped off to his friends room, outside the door he knocked and waited for a sign of his friend.

when he didn't hear anything he typed in the code and entered the room. The was no sign of Dick but the light was on in the bathroom.

"Night? You in there?" he peaked in through the door, there was no one standing in the bathroom but there were a pair of legs hanging over the edge of the bath tub.

"Nightwing?" the ginger walked forward and saw his friend was led in the bathtub in his boxer shorts, his eyes were closed and a slight frown on his face. upon closer inspection he saw that the younger had his waterproof earphones in (which he had brought for this very purpose) hence why he hadn't answered when he had called his name.

Wally sat on the tiled floor and lent his arms on the side of the bath, looking down at the young hero.

Nightwing must have sensed the shadow over his face because he opened his eyes and gave a yelp at the surprise of seeing a face above him.

"Couldn't even wait long enough to take your pants?"

"Good thing I didn't you perv" said the 17 year old. Wally laughed, over the last 4 years since being diagnosed with his condition, Dick have found several methods of dealing with his headaches. One of his most effective methods ways lying like this in warm water. It was effective due to the fact it soothed his back and head and it was also calming for him.

"Heard you got tossed around like a rag doll" the speeder grinned

"Yeh, bloody Cinderblock" he groaned

Wally looked down at his oldest friend thoughtfully. He knew he couldn't understand what his friend went through, unless you experience the pain first hand, you wouldn't know how draining it is. But watching Dick over the years had helped him understand and he knew some ways to at least sooth some of his friends pain.

He reached forward and started rubbing Dicks forehead in slow circles.

"Want me to go get Batman?" the blue eyes opened again

"No, I'm alright" he sighed and then sat up his hair sticking to his face, he rubbed his temples for a few moments before looking back at the speedster.

"I'll Survive" he grinned "I always do".


	8. Thank You

Hello to my faithful readers. Thank you so much for reading this story.

If you haven't guessed by now, this story was based on my story. It was a coping mechanism for me while going through this.

I'm not sure if I've finished this story in a perfect way but I don't feel like I can continue it.

It has been my saviour over the last few months, as have you. Thank you for all the lovely reviews, favourites and followers. It really has helped me.

And I am so glad this story had a relatively happy ending as I hope you do too.

I am currently going through the treatment for my headaches and hoping it works as well for me as it worked for Nightwing.

If you have any questions or if you suffer from CTH yourself and want to chat then feel free to PM me.

Or follow me on twitter! nightwingfan33

Thanks so much for reading.

Karin Matthews.

xxxx


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